“There comes a point where we don’t need more inquiries,” Wynne argued. “Had Elon Musk really paid attention to what’s been going on in this country, he might have recognized that there’ve already been inquiries.”
A 2014 state-commissioned report by senior social worker Alexis Jay found that some 1,400 vulnerable children were targeted and sexually abused in the northern English town of Rotherham between 1997 and 2013. Jay blasted “collective failures” in the care system and said local authorities failed to confront Pakistani-heritage perpetrators of the abuse, in part because some staff feared being labeled racist.
The findings of that report, and a subsequent local inquiry on exploitation in the town of Oldham, have since become rallying points for figures on the right of British politics, including insurgent Reform UK leader Nigel Farage, who has sought the support of Musk.
‘Misjudged’
Gwynne’s boss, Health Secretary Wes Streeting, offered Musk an olive branch in a later interview.
He said Friday that Musk’s criticisms were “misjudged and certainly misinformed” — and stressed that the British government is keen to cooperate with tech giants to address child sexual exploitation.
“We’re willing to work with Elon Musk, who I think has got a big role to play with his social media platform to help us and other countries to tackle this serious issue,” Streeting told ITV News. “If he wants to work with us and roll his sleeves up, we’d welcome that.”
